End Up Here

and the rain, it came too soon

Once we're done eating, we head to the park where the show will be. It's a short walk, so Lia and I are there pretty early. When we arrive there's only a handful of other show-goers. I look around and spot the four boys setting up. My heart leaps when I see Calum. I feel my cheeks turn bright red, and notice Lia's are, too. She sees Luke, of course. Lia turns to me and asks, "Okay, I'm gonna go talk to Luke, how do I look?"

"So pretty! I guess I'll talk to Cal, too," I say. I take a huge breath and we walk over to the boys.

"Hey, guys! This is my friend Nova I was telling you about," Lia tells the guys.

"What's up, Nova? Nice to meet you," Luke says.

"Hi, can't wait for the show! Nice to meet you guys. And nice to see you again, Calum. We had class together last semester, if you don't remember me," I say, feeling like an idiot for rambling.

"Yeah, of course I remember you! You were always super chill and quiet in class... I'm glad we reconnected. Super stoked for you to see us play!" he responds. 

Omg he's so damn charming. Wow. Okay- respond you idiot!!

"Lia and I have been listening to your songs all afternoon! You guys have such a cool sound," I tell them.

"Ah, thanks. Glad you like it," Ashton says. 

"Yeah, glad you don't think we sound like shit, that's nice," Michael chimes in.

We all laugh at Michael's joke and Luke looks at the time. 

"Hey, I think we should finish setting up for the show, but we will talk after and do the interview," Luke says.

"Okay, Luke! Have fun guys, can't wait to hear you," Lia says, winking at Luke.

The boys walk back to the stage and continue setting everything up. I turn to Lia.

"Wanna go grab a drink before they start?" I ask her. There was a drink vendor within our sight. She nods and we start walking. 

"I saw you flirting with Luke back there," I teased. Before Lia has a chance to answer, there's a flash of lightning and a loud rumble and before we know it, it starts pouring. 

We try to cover ourselves before it rained too much, but the rain was inevitably going to drench us. We see the boys scrambling to cover their instruments, so we rush over and help. We help them put the guitars and bass back in their cases. Over and over Calum is saying, "Shit."

"Hey Cal, I'm so sorry this is happening to you guys!" I yell over the rain.

"It's okay, just hurry! Thank you so much for helping us," he says.

Once we pack everything up, Ashton yells to us, "Everyone just hop in the van and we'll figure out what we're doing now!"

We all grab as many things as we can and start running towards the van. As soon as we get to it, Luke throws opens the trunk and we all jam everything into the back. We jump in as soon as we're done. 

With exasperation, Michael sighs and says, "Fuck. What the fuck are we supposed to do now?"

There's silence for a good minute before I come up with an idea.

"Hear me out, what if we did a little performance in the common area in the dorms? It's only 7:00 so I know people are still around looking for something to do," I suggest.

"Yeah, that would be awesome! I can ask some of my friends to come down! We can get some snacks and stuff, too," Lia adds.

"I don't know guys. What if the RA's get mad at us for being too loud?" Ashton says.

"Fuck you, Ash! We're punk rock, let's do this shit!" Michael exclaims, sitting in the drivers seat. Right away he slams on the gas and we all scream in excitement.